When it Rains, It Pours
by CallaBunny
Summary: James is cynical. Lily is optimistic. He's irrational and calculating. She's caring and spontaneous. A story of their two worlds colliding, and how they found life in a time of death.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I'm not sure why I need a disclaimer, as this should be fairly obvious.**

**Enjoy! :)**

Chapter one: The First Drop

It was getting a little later in the Fall season to be relaxing outside, James noticed, as goose bumps danced along his forearm. Halloween was approaching, and students were taking every opportunity to enjoy the rapidly disappearing nice air.

Four boys in particular were lounged around, and up in, one of the many trees located on Hogwarts grounds. Little Peter Pettigrew was snoozing on the grass, a few feet away from the sturdy Oak. A butterfly was making friends with his tousled hair. Sirius Black, leaning against the tree, took a long drag from his cigarette and kept his eyes trained on a gaggle of girls sunbathing by the lake. On the lowest branch sat Remus Lupin, reading a book about Grindewald and playing with a tear in his robes. Sitting against the tree next to Black, doing nothing in particular besides staring at the grass, sat the forth boy. There was nothing particularly eyecatching about James Potter's appearance, besides his decidedly disheveled hair. While already a popular wizard before stepping into Hogwarts (due to a pure blood line, old money, respected parents, and a father who is Head Auror) James made a name for himself within the first year. With enough personality for all four boys, enough Quidditch talent for an entire team, a trouble spree worthy of expulsion (but the cleverness to avoid it), smarts, _and_ charm, James took the castle by storm. He was a Gryffindor to the core. Fiercely loyal to his friends and made it his personal goal to put a smile on everyone's face, save for the Slytherins and Filch. He quickly became a pseudo-celebrity, the boy girls vied for attention from. The boy professors loved to teach and were wary of disciplining. He brought life to dull moments and made happy moments even bigger, with the help of his fellow Marauders. They were the happiest group around. Appearing worry-free and always up for a good time.

Then at the beginning of Fourth Year, everything changed. The bliss came unhinged. James Potter came back to school a completely different person. Long gone was the carefree boy, replaced by a brooding and quiet teen. The pranks slowed down and eventually stopped. The parties were less of a celebration, and more of an emphasis on alcohol. The teachers looked at the boy with pity. Girls wanted to fix him. Nobody knew what happened or what caused this wonderful boy to withdraw. They attempted to help until he pushed them all away.

"He's a right git, I'm telling you." Sirius Black uttered, after exhaling a lungful of smoke. "Gave me a T on my essay when McKinnon got an O and I copied her word for word."

Remus Lupin rolled his eyes from up in his perch, and tossed a twig at Black's head. "You really need to start doing your own work. It's 7th year and I can count the essays you've written yourself on one hand. How do you expect to get a job after graduating, if you don't know anything?" Remus asked him.

"Easy," Sirius smirked up at Remus, "I just won't be a werewolf. That helps, right?" Sirius snubbed his cigarette on the tree bark and went to light a new one.

"Well, I wouldn't be to sure about that," Remus raised his eyebrows challengingly, "I may keep this conversation in mind come the next full moon."

"Like I'd ever be intimidated by a little kitty," Sirius drawled, "One little growl and you'll go hide in the corner."

Remus rolled his eyes again and muttered something about 'arrogant gits' before returning to his book.

"Prongs," Sirius nudged the boy next to him with his foot, "what's the plan for tonight? Wanna break into Syltherin common room and leave a little present?"

"Huh?" James grunted, tearing his attention away from the ground to look at his friend. "Oh...uh, nah. Let's go to Hogsmeade."

Sirius glanced up at Remus, who gave him a stern eye, then focused back on James. "Iduno, mate. You know I love firewhiskey more than the rest of 'em, but it's getting a little old doing the same thing every night. It'd be cool to plan an entire day of torture for Snivellus and we could make-"

"Nah," James interrupted him, looking back to the ground. "Let's just get off the grounds tonight, Padfoot. We can plan pranks later."

"Oh, _come on_, Prongs! I offered you_ Snivellus!_ You never turn that shit down!" Sirius stormed. He was starting to get a little frustrated, and planted his feet on the grass in front of James.

"Sirius," Remus began, "maybe-"

"No! Shut up, Moony. Stop babying my so-called best mate over here. He keeps weaseling out of any opportunity for _fun," _Sirius glared at James. "And come off it, James! You're becoming a down right git. 'We can play pranks later.' Really? You've been saying that all term, but when are you gonna man up and bloody-"

A loud _splash _from the lake caught all four boys attention. They whipped their heads towards water, with Remus pulling out his wand. As the waves subsided, a figure appeared to be stumbling out of the lake. Drenched to the bone with seaweed stuck in her hair and small, purple creatures nipping at her robes, the girl stabled herself on dry land. After hurriedly removing the robe to evade the pesky critters, she whirled around with a glare to match Medusa.

"_Damn,"_ Sirius breathed. "Can we petition for a new uniform rule that requires girls' shirts to me soaking wet at all times?" His eyes hungrily roamed over the angry girl's assets.

"_Sirius," _Remus hissed as he dropped his book on the former boy's head, "settle down. You already have the attention span of a mutt, I don't think having sex on your mind more often than it already is will be helping anyone."

"Oh, Moony," Sirius's eyes followed the girl as she joined a group of friends, still picking seaweed from her hair, "it's impossible for me to think of shagging any more than I already do. There is no actual time of day that I am not actively thinking about it. Usually it's more than thinking, though."

"Really?" Peter's groggy voice came from a few feet away. "So when you're thinking about pranking Snape, you're also thinking about shagging him?"

"Bloody Hell, Wormtail!" Sirius gagged. "Not shagging _him._ Merlin no. But yes, it's possible to think about pranking him and shagging _a girl_ at the same time. Like that leggy redhead that still hasn't bothered to dry herself off yet. I am definitely thinking about shagging her right now."

"Who is that, anyways?" Peter questioned. "Is she some Ravenclaw fourth year?"

"No way does a 4th year have a chest like that," Sirius shot him down immediately. "Besides, looks more Hufflepuff than Ravenclaw to me."

Peter squinted his eyes, "I can't really see what color her tie is."

"Really, you're looking at her _tie_, of all things?" Sirius shook his head in disappointment.

"She's a Gryffindor," Remus volunteered from up in the tree.

Sirius's eyes shot up to his observant friend. "Gryffindor? Hmm, interesting. Have you gotten with that, Moony?" Sirius smirked at his mate.

Remus rolled his eyes and muttered, "That's Lily Evans. She's a 6th year in our house, not a 4th year. She's a prefect with me, and I know you guys have seen her around."

"So observant!" Sirius exclaimed. "Now please tell me you got all wolfy with her."

"No," Remus glared, "you know I haven't slept with her, so come off it."

"What about you, Prongs?" Sirius nudged his friend again.

"Never seen her," James yawned and flicked a blade of grass.

Remus rolled his eyes again, and positioned himself into a sitting position. "You guys are joking, right? Lily Evans? Doesn't ring a bell?"

"You fancy her or something, mate?" Sirius asked while James started packing up his bag.

"No," Remus was starting to turn a little red from frustration. "I'm just shocked you haven't even noticed her. She may not be in our classes, but she's always around. She's really smart and-"

"Moony," Sirius drawled, "not everyone spends all day doing prefect duties and holing up in the library. That's not exactly my definition of 'always around.'"

Remus ignored the comment, and continued, "She eats meals at the same table as us every day. Cheers for the same Quidditch team. Oh, and, she's only been in a constant prank war with your little brother since our third year."

"Regulus?" Sirius asked, face filled with apprehension.

"Yeah, you remember all those days where he comes down to breakfast with something like purple skin and tentacles, or when he hijacked the Pitch's microphone and sang the Durmstrang Alma Mater? When those baby ducks followed him all day and he laid an egg? All those pranks? That was Lily."

"Well, bloody hell. I always figured the snakes were hazing him or something," Sirius mused. "How perfect is that, Prongs? We've got someone following in our footsteps with Snivellus."

"Splendid," James muttered while shouldering his bag. "I've got to head in for detention."

"What? When'd you get detention?" Remus jumped down from the branch.

"Earlier today, Filch didn't like the way I was looking at his cat or something," James rubbed the back of his neck.

"Damn, that's not even worth it," Sirius lit up another cigarette. "You're not trying to make a move on my detention record, are you?" Sirius narrowed his eyes at the other boy.

"No chance, Padfoot," James rolled his eyes, "I couldn't catch up if I tried. I'll see you tonight."

As he walked away, James heard his mates betting on how many more detentions Sirius could get before Holiday. Stifling a yawn, he trudged up the grassy hill towards the castle. At about ten yards from the doors, he heard a distinct squishing sound. Glancing to his left, he eyed the Evans girl walking in the same direction. She sighed, readjusting her bag's strap. He could still spot some sort of green plant in her wet hair.

"_Impervius,"_ James whispered while subtly waving his wand at her. He heard a gasp, but didn't break his stride while walking towards the door. Pushing through the doors, he quickly began climbing the stairs. James didn't stop climbing until he came upon the Astronomy tower. Chucking his bag towards a wall, James walked up to a balcony. Peering over the stone wall, he could see several students milling about the back grounds. James climbs up onto the stone railing and stood up. Holding his arms out, he inches closer and closer to the edge.

Caught up on his thoughts, James barely heard the wind howling as it picked up speed. Stepping even further out, he began to sway, continuing to tempt fate. Eyes glazed from both the strong wind and his intrusive thoughts, James looked down at the grass he was inspecting so carefully an hour before.

He debated taking a closer look.

**A/N: Hi there! New story, new attitude. I'm used to the fun and carefree fics, but wanted to test my pen at a darker drama. I haven't decided whether to continue this one, or solely focus on **_**Boys and Bludgers**_** now. I've already planned out the first ten chapters (which is my favorite part of writing! Imagining the stories and planning where they go and how everything weaves together. The actual writing might is a little more tedious... :])**

**So just let me know if there's any interest! Motivation is my biggest struggle with writing. I can daydream about my plots and characters all day, but if there's no motivation to share it then I gaurantee it's not happening.**


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